Journey of the Dragon Balls
by Gabygoo
Summary: Upon packing for Namek, Bulma uncovers her old diary, recounting the events of Dragon Ball. (May cover Dragon Ball and/or Namek Saga. My side project.)
1. Intro

Bulma was rummaging through her drawers.

She wasn't sure what she was looking for, in particular. It started when she wanted to find something to take with her when they went to Namek.

Namek.

Bulma sighed.

When she was younger, she had always looked up to the stars. They had seemed so far away, back then. Like any child, she had wanted to grasp them. Except for her, it also held her scientific curiosity – her desire to _know_ what lied beyond the reaches of their planet. And now, she was fulfilling her life's dreams. She was going to space! So why was she so…depressed?

Deep down, she knew the answer. It was the reason why she was going to space in the first place. She wasn't exploring vast, uncharted territory in the name of science. She wasn't uncovering the mysteries of the universe. She was going to space to find the Dragon Balls and wish Yamcha back.

_Yamcha…_

Thinking about him still sent mixed feelings down her spine. On the one hand, she cared about him. And now he was dead. That day, in the rays of the setting sun, they had arrived at the scene of the battle between their friends and the evil aliens. Saiyans, they were called. The cat had said there were 4 people left alive. That in itself was an ominous message. And when they finally caught up to them, Bulma found out that Yamcha was among the casualties. No…amongst the _fatalities_. And, even if they had broken up years ago, it would take a heartless monster to not feel grief at his passing.

But, on the other hand…it felt so _stupid_! Yamcha should have never gone to that battle in the first place! It wasn't his fight, really. Goku had always been stronger than him. Why would he risk his life when Goku would probably be the only person who mattered in the end?

When she had told him this, he had gotten angry.

"So what?" he had snapped at her. "Goku may be stronger than me. Krillin, and Tenshinhan, too. But that doesn't mean I'm going to give up on this fight! If the Saiyans win, the whole _planet_ could be destroyed, Bulma. During the Red Ribbon Army, and King Piccolo…I was too late to do anything useful. This time, I'm going to help protect…our planet. I swear it!"

If only he could have listened to her. Maybe he would have survived.

And with Piccolo dead, the Dragon Balls on Earth were gone. They couldn't bring him back to life. Him, and Tenshinhan, and Chiaotzu, and Piccolo. That feeling of finality – the fact that no one was going to have a second chance…it threatened to overwhelm her. Even once her tears had faded, and the initial grief had gone, she knew it would take one step to send her over the edge again.

Then they had found out about Namek. And, after a few mishaps later, they had a working spaceship and a crew, ready to go out to space.

She was going, of course. Even if she didn't want to, there was no one else who could fly the ship. But she wanted to. Despite the circumstances, nothing would stop her from seeing another planet. She couldn't _completely_ erase her child-like sense of wonder at departing the Earth for unknown waters.

But this time, her crew was rather unusual. Since this was a relatively low-key affair, the only people coming with her were Krillin and Gohan.

Krillin…Bulma didn't know him terribly well. They had seen each other occasionally, but Bulma never thought too much about him. For her, Krillin used to be "Goku's little sidekick" – a term that became even more endearing as Goku's height shot up far ahead of him. But he was apparently a strong fighter, and he seemed like a nice guy. Definitely not her type, but at least he wasn't a jerk. And he didn't try to look up her skirt anymore.

And Gohan…

Bulma knew even _less_ about him. He was Goku's son. His _son_! She still had trouble processing that. Goku with a kid was one of those things that just didn't seem to fit together. In Bulma's mind, Goku was still that little boy she met in the middle of the wilderness. Even if he was grown up now, and even taller than _her_…she still couldn't imagine him as an adult, let alone with a child.

But apparently, it was real. Goku had a child: a child who was now 5 years old.

She didn't know much about him. He seemed very sweet, even after the events of the battle with the Saiyans. That in itself was strange. He had been kidnapped by Piccolo last year! Oolong had been convinced that, even if Gohan _did _survive whatever fiendish plans the demon had in store for him, he'd probably turn out rotten to the core. But, from what everyone could tell, aside from a surprise outburst at his mother, he acted perfectly normal. There didn't seem to be any malice in him.

And there was another thing strange about Gohan's apparent meekness. Krillin had told her about it, a few days ago.

"Gohan may be small," he had said. "But his power is _incredible_. During that battle…he managed to get some good hits on Nappa, and even fought on par with _Vegeta_ for a while!"

All Bulma knew about Vegeta was that even Goku couldn't overpower him completely.

"But…he's only 5!" she had exclaimed in disbelief. "How could a 5 year old be able to fight aliens even _Goku_ had trouble with?"

Krillin had mused at this for a while, before finally answering, "Well, he's not entirely _human_, is he?"

That was the other shock that she still was trying to process. Goku was an alien. A Saiyan, to be precise. And those aliens that had threatened Earth were part of his species.

Goku was an alien.

Bulma would be lying if she said the idea had never crossed her mind at any point. She _had_ considered it. Goku himself was always…_different_. She used to chalk it up to his wilderness lifestyle, but as he got older, and _stronger_, everyone started to wonder if he wasn't even human to begin with.

The problem had always been confirming it. Even back when Goku still had his tail, there was no way to prove that he wasn't human. Weirder creatures existed in the world than a boy with a monkey tail. You couldn't just label him 'alien'. Not without a form of proof.

Of course, that proof had to arrive last year. An alien. Goku's brother, apparently. It turns out Goku was a Saiyan. And the Saiyans were a race of complete jerks!

Bulma did feel a little vulnerable, leaving to space without Goku. But he was still confined in hospital after the grievous injuries the battle with the Saiyans had inflicted upon him.

And, besides, she didn't need him, did she? According to Kaio, the Namekians were a peaceful race, and there were only about a hundred of them left. If all went to plan, everything would work out fine. There'd be no trouble. They'd go to Namek, explain to the Namekians, "Hey, we really need your Dragon Balls. We just need one wish, and we'll never bother you again", gather the Dragon Balls, and wish back Piccolo.

Bulma still couldn't believe that they were using their wish to bring back the devil. But it was also bringing back God, so…

Sometimes, Bulma could barely believe the situations she had gotten herself into.

But, in the end, that was how the situation stood. She was going to space, to gather the Dragon Balls, wish back their God, and thus get back _their_ Dragon Balls. And then they could go home and never have to worry about that planet again.

In the end, it just came down to gathering up the Dragon Balls again. And she had helped do that 3 times now. She was a relative expert.

_There!_ Bulma had finally found what she was looking for – a set of DVD's to watch on the trip to Namek – it was going to take a month, after all. If she didn't have something to entertain herself, she'd probably die of boredom.

But, as she was pulling it out, a small book also fell on the floor. Curious, Bulma looked at it…and then she recognised it.

It was her old diary. She had originally started writing it on the very first quest for the Dragon Balls – when she met Goku for the first time.

After saving the world, though…writing a diary seemed childish by comparison. So she had left it alone, and it stayed there for months.

Then, when the 21st Budokai had started, Bulma had decided she wanted to record the outcomes of the matches for Yamcha. In a spur-of-the-moment decision, she had brought the diary along to write the commentary on the matches in. And things had spiralled from there.

Flicking through the pages now, Bulma realised she had recorded almost every meeting she had with Goku inside. All the tournaments, some stuff with the Red Ribbon Army…even the short-lived tyranny of King Piccolo had been recounted.

After Goku had defeated Piccolo Jr., she had stopped. It felt appropriate. She had only really whipped it out for tournaments, or if they were searching for the Dragon Balls. It seemed like neither of those things were going to happen again. Piccolo Jr. had destroyed the arena, and the Dragon Balls…nothing bad was going to happen. They didn't _need_ them anymore.

But now…

_We don't have any more tournaments,_ she thought. _But we're definitely still looking for Dragon Balls._

Smiling slightly, a strange desire took hold of her. She grabbed the diary and threw it along with everything else.

**[This is going to be a little side-project of mine. But I need your help for this. Is the diary going to cover the events of Dragon Ball, or Namek? Or why not both? Just review and tell me your preferences!**

**As this is a side-project, it has no strict schedule. I'm just doing this whenever I run out of motivation when writing my main fics. So don't expect regular updates.]**


	2. Dragon Ball Saga - Entry 1

**Bulma's Quest for**** A Boyfriend**

Well, things have gotten interesting.

I got the second ball, pretty quickly. It wasn't even a challenge. It was just laying there in the middle of some valley in the middle of nowhere. I was thinking "wow, this quest might be really easy!" I'd get my boyfriend before I knew it!

The problem started when I was searching for the 3rd ball. I was just in my car, making good progress, when some _kid_ runs out in front of the road, carrying this huge fish. I _literally_ almost ran him over. Geez! Don't kids know to look both ways before crossing the road? If I had stopped a bit later, he would have been a goner!

But that was where things started getting really weird.

The boy thought I was a monster, or something. It seems really weird, I know, but I think I get it a bit more now.

Anyway, what was I saying? Oh, right. So, the boy…I can't believe I'm writing this. You're probably going to think I'm crazy, but it's true! The boy…he wrecked by car. He actually picked it up and threw it! I'm not crazy, I swear! I could _feel_ the car being lifted!

And then…I guess I got a little trigger-happy from him wrecking my ride. So I tried to shoot him, and it did _nothing_!

Apparently, I, Bulma, a 16-year-old genius, have encountered a bulletproof child. Who can lift cars.

I know I thought I was expecting anything when I started this trip, but I wasn't expecting anything this…_weird_!

I managed to convince the boy that I _wasn't_ a monster, that I was just a harmless girl. But even that shocked him. Turns out he had never met a girl before. From what I can tell, it seems like he's lived in the wilderness all this time. He has a house, but he seems to be completely by himself.

Oh, and did I mention he has a tail? He has a tail. It's brown and furry, just like a monkey's. And it seems to be completely real. I mean, I never touched it. That'd be gross. But it definitely moves on its own. It's not like it's just taped onto his back.

I have no idea who he is. Or even _what_ he is.

But at least I know his name. It's Goku. Son Goku.

Weird name, right? He's got a last name and everything! And he had the nerve to call _my_ name stupid!

Anyway, I bet you're probably wondering why I'm talking about this kid so much. Well, it turns out…_he _has a Dragon Ball! The Four-Star Ball. I tried to take it from him, but he wouldn't let me, saying it was his grandpa's or something.

Geez, talk about stuck up! I wasn't expecting other people to have Dragon Balls! I thought I was the only one who believed in them.

So I came up with a genius plan, if I do say so myself. I convinced him that, if he didn't want to give up his ball, he could come with me, and help me gather the rest of them. I mean, it's not like he knows the balls scatter after my wish is granted. OK, it's a bit sneaky, but…whatever. He'll get over it.

And in the meantime, Goku'll be the perfect bodyguard!

I mean, he _did_ save me from a pterodactyl. Even if it took him way too long to realise I was actually in danger!

This kid, I swear. He says he's 14, but I don't believe it. He's way too little to be only 2 years younger than me. And he acts like he's 6. He doesn't know about Capsules, or TV, or…you know, the things people are _supposed_ to know about. Whoever this grandpa of his was, he sure didn't teach him enough.

Anyway, I'm just writing this in my Capsule house. Goku's just sleeping in the sleeping bag next to my bed. He seems so innocent. Watching him now, it's hard to believe this was the same kid who destroyed my car and killed a pterodactyl. And when he's under the covers…you can't even see his tail. He looks like a normal boy.

But there's something different about him. I don't know what it is. It's not just that he's super-strong, or that he's really airheaded. Maybe this seems stupid, but I just get this strange feeling whenever I see him.

And no, it isn't love, you perverts.

Maybe this is what it's like to have a little brother. I enjoy being the youngest child, but…I dunno. There's something about Goku, and I've never seen anything like it before.

But it's getting late. I should probably get to sleep.

**Progress: 3/7 Balls! (4-Star Ball currently held by Goku)**


	3. Dragon Ball Saga - Entry 2

I can't believe this.

I seriously can't believe this.

This is the most embarrassing day of my life. And I am not joking. I am completely serious.

I shouldn't even be writing this down! I should just try and forget it ever happened! But I can't stop myself! I need to tell _someone_, someone who isn't going to laugh, or use it as blackmail.

Right, blackmail. I've got to hide this diary whenever I get home. I can't lose this now.

I know what you're thinking. What could have been so embarrassing that I don't want to tell anyone?

Well…I…

_I showed my private parts to an old man!_

There! You happy? I said it! It's down in paper and everything!

But I guess I have to trace my steps. Let's start from the beginning of the day.

Well, first things first, I woke up, got dressed, and had some coffee. Meanwhile, Goku was off…I don't even know what he was doing. Some weird Goku things. He didn't bring back a dead wolf this time, but he brought back something almost just as weird.

Yeah, Goku's still here with me.

So, he starts talking to someone, and when I went outside to check, it turns out he brought back a sea turtle.

We're in the middle of the land, really far away from the sea. It was really weird to see a sea turtle here. The turtle says he had lost his way. While I gave him some salt water and seaweed, he wanted to get back to the sea.

And Goku said we should help him!

I felt like I was the only one talking sense here. We don't have time to escort him back to the sea, I told him. We're on a quest! We've got our own things to do!

I said, if he wanted to go and help the turtle, he could. But I wasn't coming with them. So he left with the turtle, and that was the end of that.

Until I realised if Goku left, I'd be alone in the wilderness with dinosaurs. Like that pterodactyl yesterday.

So…whatever. I had a change of heart, OK?

It took _ages_ to get to the sea. But…I guess it was worth it.

The turtle, as thanks, brought back his 'master' – this old man. Some kind of Turtle Hermit, he said he was. I don't even know what that means. He was wearing a turtle shell, and had a turtle, but he also had a magic cloud.

Yeah. A magic cloud. He gave it to Goku as thanks for helping him. Goku can't shut up about how cool it is. He flies around on it, and it's really fast.

I wouldn't be so annoyed if it would let _me_ on, but it doesn't! Goku's the only one who can ride on it, because he's 'pure of heart'. Whatever that means. The old man was probably lying about that. I'm pure! The cloud probably only works for young boys. Or maybe it only works for people with tails. I dunno.

But I wasn't going to let Goku get rewarded where I, Bulma, got absolutely nothing! I asked for a reward, and the old man said he'd give me one…if I showed him my undies.

So I did. And only a few hours did I realise…

_I wasn't wearing any undies._

Goku took them off early in the morning. Goku! Because he hadn't seen a girl before, he didn't understand why I didn't have balls! Seriously, he's _that_ stupid!

I hate him. I hate Goku.

I flashed my privates because of him.

At least I got a Dragon Ball. The old man had one on a necklace. I asked for it as my reward. So…that's something?

Maybe, instead of a boyfriend, I'll ask the Dragon to erase this whole situation from my memory.

It'll sure make forgetting this easier.

**Progress (4/7 Balls! 4-Star Ball still held by Goku. I still can't ditch him. And I doubt I'd be able to steal it from him. Did I mention he took down an armed bear bandit today? In one hit!)**


End file.
